“Quite an honor to be up there with 2 World champions”: Lewis Hamilton content with a podium finish after a difficult 2023 Canadian F1 GP

Mercedes have made yet another step up, showing increasing consistency this weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, with Lewis Hamilton securing his second consecutive podium after Barcelona.

Three world champions, Max Verstappen, Fernando Alonso, and Lewis Hamilton led the majority of the race in Montreal as they finished in the same order. It made for one of the most exciting races of the 2023 F1 season so far.

In a post-race media interaction, Lewis Hamilton admitted that while Aston Martin made big progress this weekend with their upgrades, he was thrilled with Mercedes' consistency. He said:

"It's been a great weekend for us. We are slowly chipping away. The Astons took a little bit of a step ahead this weekend when they added the upgrade."

He added:

"We are working on bringing some more moving forwards. But to have this consistency and be up on the podium in Montreal, which is such an incredible city and we get such a great crowd here every year without fail."

When talking about the prospect of making it to the top, the Mercedes driver admitted that they did not have the pace to match up to Red Bull and Aston Martin. He said:

"Firstly, it's quite an honour to be up there with two world champions. I was really excited to be third and be in that mix. Unfortunately we didn't have the pace today. We knew this weekend it wouldn't be our strongest circuit because we struggle in the slower corners, particularly."

He continued:

"That was where I was losing to Fernando and Max - just on traction out of pretty much every corner. We just need to add more rear downforce in the car and a little bit more efficiency."

Showing optimism toward the future of the team this season, Lewis Hamilton added:

"I do believe we will get there but our pace was a little bit closer today so we are going in the right direction."

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Lewis Hamilton claims he is not in a "rush" to finalize contract details for his future in F1

There has been plenty of speculation surrounding Lewis Hamilton's future in F1, with his contract with Mercedes set to expire at the end of the 2023 season. However, the Briton confirmed that he has full intention to continue racing in the near future. He admitted, though, that he does not want to rush into finalizing a contract without complete consideration.

As reported by Sky Sports, the seven-time world champion said:

"We had a good meeting just recently. They are very complex contracts. It's not just a simple driving contract."

He added:

"Right now I'm planning to be here and racing for a decent chunk of time. You have just got to explore all avenues in the sense of how you can continue to expand your partnership with such a great organisation. It's not as easy as just saying 'go ahead', and I don't have to be in a rush."

The 38-year-old currently stands fourth in the drivers' standings this season.